


Twenty-Four Years

by ChiefDoctor



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Spoilers: The Husbands of River Song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-09 14:11:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5542856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiefDoctor/pseuds/ChiefDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How did they get their happily ever after..............</p>
<p>This begins as the episode ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Towers

He’s not looking at her and she knows, she just knows that it is true. Darillium will be their last time. For all the times she thought she wanted to know when their last would be – she wishes now she didn’t. Her lip trembles as she tries to read his face, this new face that she hasn’t had time to know yet.

 

He stares out at the towers refusing to look her way as she would read it all on his face. The anguish that this is their last, his anger at himself that she never knew. She never knew that he loved her – what kind of a rubbish husband had he been? Cautiously he glanced in her direction and immediately wished he hadn’t. Her beautiful cheeks are already marred with tears and her eyes, they are so sad. He has mourned the gaping hole in his life that had been filled by her for nearly a millennium and she never knew how much she meant to him. He doesn’t deserve her.

 

Slowly she inches towards him unable to read why he won’t look at her. This man who looked at her with the love of eternity in his eyes when they were on the starliner was staring stoically out at the towers. With the slightest tremble in her voice she dares to ask, “Assuming tonight is all we have left….How long is a night on Darillium?”

 

Finally he turns to her with a smug smile on his face, his eyes sparkle at her for just a moment before he turns back to the towers, “twenty-four years”. He utters. Slowly he turns back to look at her, almost afraid of her reaction. Honestly he wouldn’t have been surprised if she was horrified at the prospect of spending decades with him. But the slow smile that overtook her beautiful face told him the opposite. They still had time…..this was their time…..and she was delighted.

 

“I hate you.” She uttered pushing back the tears.

 

“No, you don’t.” He spoke softly bending towards her.

 

Slowly he let out a breath of relief and moved closer to her; now unable to take his eyes off of her…….and apparently she was the same. It seemed an eternity that they stood there staring into each other’s eyes before he slid his palm onto her cheek, gently wiping the tears. He smiled a smile he had been saving just for her before he pressed his lips against hers.

 

Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck pulling him closer to her. Their bodies melded together as if he had been made just for her. He had been scared, scared that this body so afraid of touch would not respond to her but it seemed to have been waiting for her. As his fingers slid around her ringlets it was like coming home. Coming home after a thousand years of being lost without her.

 

It wasn’t until she pulled back that she noticed the glistening of his own cheeks and couldn’t help but smile that this body didn’t hide his emotions as well as the last. Stretching on tiptoe she kissed his tears then rested her forehead against his. “Twenty-four years you say?”

 

“Yeah”. He responded without moving.

 

“Wherever should we start?” She purred.

 

Leaning back he slid her hands from her neck holding them to his chest while admiring her beauty. How is it that she is still so beautiful, as if time cannot touch her? He traces his curled fingers down her cheek tracing the outline of her lips. Her kiss against them stops him in his tracks and his eyes are drawn back to hers. She is looking at him as she always has, with more love that he ever deserved and its time she knew the same.

 

“River, I love you.” She gasps. “I have always loved you. I’m so sorry you ever doubted that for even a minute. I was an idiot thinking you always knew, that I didn’t have to say it. But if you allow me I’d like to make up for the idiot I used to be and treat you as my beloved wife.”

 

He can’t say he’s surprised by the tears running down her cheeks but this time he doesn’t try to run from them, or make her laugh by being clumsy. This time he gently wipes them away then pulls her to his chest holding her while she gathers her emotions. She is afterall River Song, and even with a declaration of love from her stupid husband she wouldn’t want him to see how much it affected her. He smiles wistfully, maybe one day. They have time.

 

With her emotions safely in control she pulls back from him and pecks his lips. “What now?” She asks.

 

“Dinner?” His eyebrows dance on his forehead and she can’t help but giggle at him.

 

“Yes, dinner.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

TBC


	2. Dinner on the Balcony

Letting her slide her arm around his he leads her to the table for two just a few feet away. They still have the fabulous view of the towers and the song it plays as a backdrop. He holds her chair while she adjusts herself in it, stopping to give him a smile before he settles in his own across from her.

 

Before either of them utter a word the waiter is beside them offering them their menus, telling them about specials, and handing the Doctor the wine list. It isn’t until River offers that they need more time before they can possibly make a choice does the waiter take his leave.

 

Reaching across the table he playfully taps her hand until she turns and twines her fingers with his. When she looks up he is staring at her with that same look he gave her on the starliner. “Thank you for sending him on his way. I wasn’t quite ready to share you yet.” She can’t help but blush at him this time. He smirks chuffed that he was able to get the great River Song to blush. That was something his last body had never been able to accomplish.

Quickly she hides behind her menu hoping he didn’t see the pink in her cheeks. With every intention of putting them back on familiar ground she quips, “You’re just afraid I might decide to take him as a husband as well.” She expects to hear good-natured grousing from him. What she hadn’t expected was for him to pull his hand away abruptly, using it to steady his hold on the table while giving her a fierce look.

 

When she doesn’t hear grumbling from him she peers over her menu at a very cross husband. “Too soon?” She ventures.

 

“Not ever!” He booms back. Blimey, he is quite cross and his eyebrows seem to take on a life of their on when he’s cross.

 

Biting her bottom lip she tries to apologize. “I’m sorry sweetie. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

 

“So you thought bringing up all the other husbands I had to watch you manhandle today would be the way to go?” Honestly she wasn’t sure if his grip on the table might not break it in two.

 

Lowering her eyes from his glower she whispered, “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Sorry? Are you? Or are you just sorry I caught you?” Her eyes flew back up to meet his. He wasn’t just playing with her he was terribly angry with her. Staring back at him she realized she hadn’t felt this off-kilter around him since she was very, very young. Was it wrong that that excited her just a bit?

 

“Do you have any idea what it was like for me to have to watch you sloppering all over that vile king, and then snogging Raymond.”

 

“Ramone.”

 

He glared back at her. “Don’t care. All I cared about was that my wife, who refused to see me, was snogging that boy to within an inch of his life. And to think you always complained about how young _I_ looked.”

 

Wrapping her arms around herself she looked rather repentant when the Doctor looked at her again. She realizes now how that must have looked to him but he has to know it didn’t mean anything. Leaning her crossed-arms on the table she tries to get him to understand. “You do know that they didn’t mean anything to me. It was just a means to an end.”

 

“Like me?”

 

“What? No, never.”

 

“Really? Because I remember a certain someone stating that the man who gave you that diary wasn’t anyone special…..but that he was ever so useful.” The stare he bores into her dares her not to answer him with the truth.

He doesn’t expect her to laugh at him. “Of course I would say that to a stranger! I didn’t know who you were. I certainly wasn’t going to let just anyone know how important you are to me. Just look how they tried to use me to get to you. I am far more protecting of you than that.” She has leaned further into the table, bending herself closer to him, and giving him a generous view of her bosom.

 

Trying not to let the sight in front of him distract him he presses on. “River, what about all that stuff you spouting off about me not loving you? Do you actually believe that?”

 

She drops her eyes to the tablecloth hoping he can’t see the truth in them but he does. Scraping his chair around the table to her he takes her hand again. “River, I always thought you knew how I felt. I never realized what a rubbish job I had done until I heard you speak about how I wouldn’t be there if you needed me, or be sentimental enough to love you. I am sentimental enough to love you. I’ve always loved you probably since the first time you jumped out of a starliner and flew into my TARDIS.” Now his eyes drop to the tablecloth afraid of what he should say next.

 

“Doctor?” She cups his chin tilting his head so she can see his eyes.

 

Softly he spoke. “I was…..afraid to love you.”

 

“Afraid?”

 

“The truth is I don’t deserve you River. I never have so I ran, ran from you sure it would be better for you if I did. I didn’t realize that even when I stopped running a part of me still was.”

 

“Stop! Stop Doctor!” She’s pulling his hands to her chest dragging him along with them. “It was I who never deserved you. I was willing to love you even if you couldn’t love me back.”  
  
“But I did!”

 

“I didn’t know!”

 

“I hope you do now!” He pulled her from her chair and into his lap, his lips sliding against hers tasting the essence that is River. She wastes no time kissing him back. Thank goodness they have respiratory bypass. If it wasn’t for the return of the waiter they may have gotten thrown out of another restaurant for indecency. They both smirk at one another as the young man tried his best to ask them about their order.

 

They managed quite nicely to order their wine and entrée while River remained seated in his lap. When the waiter retreated they both fell into laughter holding on to one another. After a few moments they had regained control with her getting up to take her seat again. He held her hand tightly asking, “May I have this dance?”

 

“Are you sure? Have you given it a try yet in this body?”

 

“No, I was waiting for you.” His eyes twinkled at her and the thought that he probably had waited for her tore at her heart. She could not deny him any longer. He guided her out to the edge of the balcony where the song of the towers could best be heard.

 

He slid his right hand around her waist pulling her closer to him, his left hand in her right. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her but that was fine as she couldn’t keep hers off of him either. They swayed to the music, letting it fill them with its hope and its promise. “You’re quite light on your feet.” She observed.

 

“I seem to be a bit more musical this time around.” He mentions casually.

 

Curious, she asks, “Oh?”

 

“Spoilers!” He whispers in her ear and is rewarded with a boisterous laugh.

 

Her hand presses against his chest. “I thought we were all out of those, my love.”

 

“Oh there might be a few still hanging around.” He grins at her. Out of the corner of his eye he sees the waiter has brought their wine. “Shall we have our wine?” He offers.

 

“That would be lovely, dear.” She continues to hold onto his arm as they make their way back to their table.  

 

After the wine is poured and the waiter is gone he lifts his glass to her, she does the same. “To enjoying the slow path with my bespoke.”

 

She gasps but quickly covers still not entirely sure he means this. This may take some getting used to. Their entire relationship she has accepted that she loved him more than he did her, if he did at all. The idea that his love for her was just as strong…..that may take some adjusting.

 

This is all getting a bit intense for her so she strives to lighten the mood. “So who are you traveling with these days? We didn’t leave her stranded somewhere did we?” His face pales. “Oh god, did we?”

 

“No, we didn’t.” He hides behind his wine glass. It’s actually surprising seeing him drink it without spitting it out. Perhaps he has grown up.

 

“Where is she then?”

 

“Gone….” His eyes turn to watch the towers losing himself in the song that they are singing.

 

The look on his face let’s her know that she isn’t just home for the holidays…..she’s permanently gone. “How?”

 

His eyes snap back to hers with that lost little boy look he used to wear in his last body. “I don’t know.”

 

“You don’t know?”

 

“I know her name was Clara. I know she traveled with me for a long time, even back in my old body. I remember some of the adventures we were on but I can’t remember her. I think I did something…….something bad…….and I had to erase her from my memory.”

 

“Oh Doctor!” She reaches over squeezing his hand hoping it’s a bit of comfort. “How long?”

 

“How long since …….not sure…..a few months. It took me two bloody months to find my TARDIS.” His one hand flips about while she holds the other one steady. “Someone moved it.” All of a sudden he looks sharply at her.

 

“What are you looking at….. It wasn’t me! I haven’t borrowed the TARDIS in over six months.”

 

He rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you just steal my TARDIS whenever you feel like it.”

 

She rolls her eyes back at him. “It’s not like you ever noticed! Honestly, I always brought it back.”

 

He smiles at her….his River, his bad girl stealing his TARDIS right out from under his nose. “You know I thought I was really going crazy. I would smell your perfume or find an odd piece of your clothing somewhere around the ship and I was sure I was losing my mind. All this time it was you coming and going.”

 

“Guilty!” She smirks then sips at her wine.

 

“Why didn’t you stay to see me?” It finally occurs to him that she has been in his ship when he thought she was already dead and she didn’t look for him. She drops her eyes to her wine glass that she holds in her lap trying to avoid his gaze. “River?”

 

“I…I didn’t think you wanted to see me.” She stutters out.

 

“What? Why would you ever think that?”

 

Tilting her head up she holds his gaze. “Manhattan.” His eyes inflate something he remembers accusing Clara of, he thinks. Before he gets to ask her anything more the waiter returns with their meals and he lets the distraction keep them from continuing this conversation. He reminds himself they have time this time. They don’t have to say everything over one meal.

 

So when she makes small talk about how delicious her lamb is he allows it. There will be plenty of time later. They can have a lot of conversations in twenty-four years.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. Going Home, Again

After dinner he guides her over to the balcony one last time. Standing behind her he rests his chest to her back wrapping his arms around her. Leaning back against him she listens to the song of the towers. This whole day has been so overwhelming.

 

The last time she had seen him they were mourning the loss of her parents and he was wearing a bowtie. She always thought that would be his last body and that since they were both on their last regeneration that maybe, just maybe their time would end close to one another. It never occurred to her that this man who had been dropping hints all day that he was the doctor, was in fact The Doctor. As she stared out at the towers she thought of their conversations before she knew who he was. What must he think of her now? She shivers.

 

Feeling her shiver he tightens his hold around her wanting her to be comfortable in his arms. He’s amazed how comfortable he feels with her there when even the slightest touch from Clara made him tense. That’s odd that he would remember that. Pressing his cheek to the side of her he breathes in the scent of her curls. Somehow they smell of adventure, of time, and of an essence he has only ever been able to describe as River. It’s nearly overwhelming to hold her close, smell her scent when he thought he would never see her again.

 

He thought she was gone from him forever. The note she left behind after Manhattan said she was going on an expedition.   When he didn’t see her again; he always assumed she had gone to the Library. He had just never taken her to Darillium. That was another anvil of guilt he carried with him…..that the one good memory she had of them he had ruined.

 

Later when he felt her ‘haunting’ him in the TARDIS he knew he deserved it. His refusing to talk to her or even acknowledge her existence was him clinging to his last threads of sanity. When she refused to be ignored any longer at Trenzalore he had his confirmation. She was gone. She had gone to the Library without his final good-bye.

 

Having lived without her for over a thousand years it should scare him to have her back but he refuses to run from her any longer. He has wasted enough time. This is their time, this Darillium night which will last for twenty-four earth years. If this is all they have he will savor it, stretch it, make it last. Never again will he let her think he doesn’t love her and want her with him always. He’s spent enough time without. A shiver runs down his own spine.

 

“Are you cold?” She turns slightly in his arms to ask.

 

“Are you? He asks instead.

 

“A little.” She leans heavier into his chest wrapping his warmth around her.

 

Turning her in his arms he says, “Let’s go home.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Walking back into the TARDIS this time feels so different. It did feel like coming home and like they were both seeing it for the first time. Holding her hand he walks them up to the console. Immediately he begins to flip switches, type in coordinates, and pulls the lever that puts them in flight. When his eyes catch her face he sees the worry creeping back in. Sliding over to her he assures her, “I thought I should move it out of the way in the restaurant. Don’t worry we’re still on Darillium.” He bops her nose like he used to as he moves on to make another adjustment. She closes her eyes remembering with fondness the many times he had done that before.

 

When she hears the TARDIS land she opens her eyes only to catch him staring. He still can’t believe she’s here; she’s alive. An excited smile takes over his face as he approaches her. “So what do you think?” He raises his hands gesturing about the TARDIS.

 

She’s laughing at him. “Sweetie, you know I have been here before.”

 

“Yeah, but I still want to know what you think. This is your home too.”

 

She gasps at that thought. Although she had often thought of the TARDIS as home she hadn’t really lived here. Of course, they have a room together, and she has her own study but this has always been a place to be with him or her parents for awhile never anything permanent.

 

Looking around she notices for the first time the bookcases on the upper level with just one chair. “Is that where you go to brood?” She waves in the direction of the leather chair.

 

“I don’t brood!” He protests.

 

“Oh please honey, you couldn’t have changed that much.” She rolls her eyes good-naturedly at him. “I did wonder what prompted all the redecorating. Was it when you regenerated?”

 

“Yes, I added more of the round things and the upper study but most of this I changed after……..” He turned away from her trying to hide the emotions that still overtook him after a thousand years.

 

Coming closer she laid her hand at his back, “After what sweetie?”

 

Not turning around, keeping his hands tightly in his pockets he spoke softly, “After my family was gone.”

 

Coming around to face him it pained her to see the hurt on his face and the tears welling in his eyes. “What family?” She asked gently.

 

The look he gave her seemed to question her sanity. “What do you mean _what_ family? Our family! Amy, Rory, and ….you.”

 

“But Doctor I have been here many, many times since you changed the desktop.” It finally dawns on her. “How long has it been for you since Manhattan?” He avoids her gaze not wanting her to know how long it’s been but she pushes into his space gently turning him so that she can see him. “Doctor, how long?”

 

“A long time.” He hopes that will placate her even though he knows it won’t.

 

“Doctor, tell me how long has it been since you lost them?” Her eyes implore him for the truth although he’s not quite sure it will be of much comfort when she gets it.

 

“A little over a thousand years.” Her eyes widen as she stumbles back from him. She thought it had been a while but never that long.

 

“…and me?” She looks scared and he can tell her breathing is rapid. He doesn’t want to answer but he knows she won’t give up.

 

Staring at his shoes he mutters, “the same.”

 

Her eyes bulge out and her knees go weak. As she begins to fall he catches her bringing her gently to the floor. Holding her tightly in his arms he lets the emotions wash over her while he tries to process them himself. “A thousand years” he hears her repeat again and again as she sobs into his chest. Gently he strokes her back hoping she doesn’t notice the tears marring his own cheeks.

 

Finally after what seems like forever she leans back to look in his eyes. They look tired as they look upon her and she is surprised by their wetness. “You don’t even remember me do you?”

 

“What?!? How could you ever think such a thing?”

 

“But it’s been so long.”

 

“River, it wouldn’t matter how long it has been I would never forget you. You are here…” He places his hand between his hearts. “for always.”

 

“But….but…”

 

“No buts….you are my wife and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about you, that I don’t miss you, or wish you were here. So now that I have you here don’t think I’m letting go anytime soon.”

 

She chokes on the tears as she processes his words. “Oh my god, you really do love me!” Her eyes are wide as if she is finally, finally receiving the message.

 

He laughs pushing the tears from his face. “Yes, dear I do ……very much. What are you going to do about that?”

 

She grabs his face and pulls it towards her their mouths desperate for one another. The taste of him mingled with their salty tears and it felt so bittersweet. They luxuriated in the feel of each others’ lips against one another until they absolutely required breath. Pressing their foreheads together they each gulped for air wondering how they had done without the other for so long. He leaves a feather kiss on her nose before pulling her to his chest holding her so tight she thinks she’ll break. Her hold on him is just as desperate.

 

It’s not long before exhaustion finally took her as he refused to let her go. Reaching up to touch the console he quietly implores the old girl to find their bedroom….’the last time we were there together’ he adds.  She hums around him letting him know she is glad that her child is home and that she is happy they are together again.

 

It’s not long before their distinctive door appears at the bottom of the stairs to the right where it used to be on the old desktop. Sitting there on the console floor he admires the 18th century door that River had salvaged from the ruins of some minor king that her team had been excavating on Earth in the 22nd century. Holding her in his arms he remembers how he protested her wanting to replace the perfectly good door that his ship had created for them. He nearly blushes at the memory of her persuading him that they deserved a door fit for royalty. Apparently his ship agreed since before they had awaken from their lovemaking she had already installed it. It was one of the many times he knew his old girl favored River over him. Honestly he didn’t really mind.

 

His eyes lower to take in the beauty of the woman lying asleep in his arms. She’s as beautiful as he remembers her. So often he wondered if his mind had created an image of River that wasn’t real but looking at her mere inches from him he knows that his memory was perfect. She really was as perfect as the image he carried around inside of him.

 

Somehow he managed to get them both off the floor without waking her. It had been a long and difficult day. Reaching the hand-carved door he is grateful that the old girl had left it open for him. Barely stepping inside he stops his eyes quickly taking in the sights that he had avoided for a millennium. It doesn’t press so heavily against his chest knowing that she is still alive and that they still have time to make more memories here together.

 

Carrying her to their bed he lays her first on his side, then scurries around to prepare the bedding on her side. Without waking her he lays her against her pillow. Standing there next to the bed his hearts tighten knowing she is home. Gently he removes her shoes and pulls the covers up. He never thought he would see her in this room, in their bed ever again. As he turns away he swipes at a tear against his cheek.

 

As he looks around the room his senses are assaulted with the sights and smells that he had denied himself since she left, when he thought she would never be back. Shuffling over to her dressing table his fingers gently outline her bottles of perfume resting haphazardly near the mirror. Stopping at the one that he knows was always her favorite he brings it to his nose taking a deep sniff. He smiles at the memories it brings back, dancing with her in the moonlight of the seven moons on Beta Euros, or the taste of it on his tongue as he mapped every inch of her golden skin. Without thinking he turned back to the bed to catch a glimpse of her there in his bed waiting for him. He can’t help but smile at the sight of her.

 

Placing the bottle back in its place his hearts stutter as he takes in the many photos River had slipped into the edges of the mirror, pictures of her parents, some with her, some with him. There are even a couple of the four of them. He tries to breathe around the lump in his throat as he looks at his Ponds. It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to think of them. The guilt nearly crushed him as it always did…..how he had failed them.

 

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in an effort to ward off the darkness that missing his Ponds always brought him. When he opened them he caught sight of her in the mirror sleeping behind him and he remembered ……they had time. His Ponds might be lost to them forever but he and River still had time. He still had time ……to get it right.

 

Looking again at the pictures he could see now how she looked at him, the way she always looked at him, her eyes so full of love. He started to search through the pictures hoping to find that same look in his own eyes. He does finally. It’s the latest picture she has of them. Pulling it from the mirror edge he brings it closer. They're standing on a balcony, the setting suns of Majora Magnus shown behind them but the glow of it shown brightly on their faces. He doesn’t remember who took it as their casually holding each other staring into one another’s eyes. The angle captures his face perfectly with the same love he hopes she saw in his face today.

 

Looking up from the picture he stares at the old man staring back at him. His eyes seek her out in the mirror and he can’t help but wonder if she will be disappointed that he’s not bowtie. Returning the picture to its spot he drags himself over to the chair in the corner. Sitting, staring, he lets himself hope that she will still love him even though he no longer looks young. Soon being across the room from her is too far.

 

He unlaces his boots leaving them by the chair. This body always seemed to need so many layers between him and everyone else. But he doesn’t want that with her. He removes his jacket, his tie, and his waistcoat before he slides in next to her. He can feel himself being drawn to her, needing her to fill the ache that for so long has resided between his hearts. He slides his arms around her pulling her close to his chest, his face buried into her curls, he can’t stop the contented smile before he drifts off to a rest he has not had since he lost his wife.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. I love you River ….so much

Slowly her eyes flutter open but she immediately closes them afraid to let the dream fade. _‘But wait…..was that our room?’_ Opening her eyes again she lets them adjust to the low lighting slowly taking in the sights around her. Their room! It’s been so long since she’s been in here. The old girl had kept it from her; replacing it with a room just for her. She’d always wondered why.

 

She can feel him warm wrapped around her and she doesn’t want to move but she really needs the loo. Carefully sliding out of his arms she makes a quick trip to the ensuite. That’s when she realizes she’s still in her evening gown. Popping into her wardrobe she hangs up her dress and slides her silky nightie over her head.

 

Coming out of the wardrobe her eyes immediately seek him out. Lying there he looks so content, happy even. Shuffling closer she takes the opportunity to study his face, a face he was never supposed to have. _‘I can’t wait to hear that story.’_ She smiles. Stories…..they’ll have plenty of time to tell each other their stories without any more spoilers. That immediately makes her both happy and sad….not entirely certain which emotion to grab hold of.

 

So she turns away, goes to her dressing table. Sitting there she removes her jewelry. Placing it in the wooden box she unearthed on one of her first digs. She brings out the ancient Aztec necklace he gave her for their 60th wedding anniversary. He knew she’d like something old but he worried that she’d be upset that he cheated going back to the time of the ancient Aztecs as opposed to digging it up centuries later. A smile comes to her face as she remembers how thoroughly she thanked him.

 

Her eyes catch him in the reflection of the mirror; this man who is her husband that she does not yet know. She can’t help but wonder what’s the same, what’s different. Like on fast-forward her mind replays their conversations since he whispered, “Hello Sweetie” into her ear. It had been so overwhelming realizing that he was there, had been there, and declared he wasn’t leaving. It was something she never expected from him. Looking at him again as he lies there, contentment playing across his face, she wants to know more about him yet deep down she knows she already knows everything she needs to.

 

As her hands begin to pull the pins from her hair her eyes take in the pictures tucked into the edges of her mirror. Her parents…..god she misses them. They may have had the most unconventional family life of anyone in the universe but they were always there for her. From the moment she had gotten to Leadworth she looked for them. It didn’t take long for the three outsiders to bond together. Only she knew of their connection and somehow that made it better. They chose her. They didn’t have any obligation to her but they chose to be her friend, even when she was terribly difficult.

 

In some ways it had become more awkward when she finally told them who she was but then now that she thinks about it their relationship didn’t really change that much. Amy was always her mother and she couldn’t have asked for a better father than Rory. She has to stop pulling out hairpins to wipe the tears that have trickled down her cheeks. She’s still not able to stop missing them and she doubts she ever will.

 

Finally when her hair is free of pins; she runs her fingers through the ringlets while studying pictures of her and the Doctor. Her Doctor, the one she knew best. He had been such hard work young, both young in their relationship and how young he chose to act in that regeneration. But she smiled thinking of all the times he made her laugh. Turning on her stool she watches the man sleeping in their bed. She remembers the times today he made her laugh and she finds she’s looking forward to laughing more with him.

It’s then she remembers him saying that it had been a long, long time since he’d laughed. _‘Why is that?’_ she wondered. _‘Did this have to do with his lost companion, Clara or was it something else?’ ‘I suppose now I’ll have time to find out.’_ A smile took over her face at the thought of time……time with her husband.’

 

Standing up she glided over to the bed and slipped back into his arms holding them in place around her middle looking forward to waking up together later for the first time in a very long time.

 

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Slowly he wakes becoming more and more aware that something is different. Firstly he’s lying down, he never lies down – he only takes catnaps in his chair. Secondly, he realizes he’s not alone. At that revelation his eyes shoot open.

 

Looking back at him are sparkling green eyes that he knows sometimes switch to blue. Searching them just a little bit closer and yes, there they are the flecks of gold that he is certain is why she has ended up a goddess in more civilizations than he can count. Seeing her there, flashes of yesterday pass before his eyes, and he is reminded that this isn’t a dream. She’s real.

 

Reaching out tentatively he lets the tip of his finger trace down her cheek. _‘She is really here.’_ His inner voice reminds him and the most beautiful smile breaks out on his face. “Hello.” His voice small, careful still afraid this is his mind playing tricks on him again. It’s not like he hasn’t conjured her up plenty of times over the years, and there were the times he really was sure she was haunting him (probably was – that bad girl), and the times he heard her voice inside his head when he had lost all hope and he needed a good swift kick in the pants.

 

“Hello sleepyhead.” She teased, her eyes sparkling at him as she did.

 

“Sleephead? Who you calling a sleepyhead? I don’t even sleep.”

 

Her head fell back into laughter. “Oh sweetie, you are so wrong. I’ve been lying here for over an hour watching you.”

 

His face contorts all confused and he begins to protest, “Couldn’t have!” He sees her nodding that she definitely had with that insufferable smirk on her face. “Really?”

 

“It’s been quite delightful getting to learn your face without you knowing it.”

 

His vanity can’t keep him from asking. “So what do you think?” He smiles, then grins, flexing his cheeks in all sorts of ways to show off his new old face to her.

 

Again she laughs at him. “Oh sweetie, you’re still an idiot aren’t you?” Her hand grazes his face fondly.

 

Her touch he’s sure stutters his hearts stopped but not because he doesn’t want her to touch him but because he can’t believe how long it’s been since she had. Hoping their still teasing he echoes his line, “But still your idiot, right?”

 

Her smile takes over her face as she leans into him. “Absolutely!” His brain explodes when her lips pressed against his.   The overwhelming sensation makes him dizzy but he doesn’t want it to stop so he reaches for her. His fingers twine in her curls as he pulls her closer. The sensation of her fingers sliding through his own hair causes him to pull away slightly, gasping for air.

 

He doesn’t go far pressing his forehead into hers trying to get his bearings. He’d forgotten how River could make him lose himself in her. He wasn’t lying when he said he hadn’t forgotten her, that she was always in his hearts but these moments, these sensations he had locked away. They hurt too much when he knew he was never going to experience them again.

 

“Doctor?” River wasn’t sure what was going on with him. When he was younger he had been a bit shy around her. She wondered if that was it but somehow she sensed it was something different.

 

“Sorry, sorry.” He tried to say while his hand covered his face trying to hide the fact that he was crying again.

 

Gently she pulls his hand down but is surprised by the tears. Cautiously the tips of her fingers push them away. “What’s the matter?”

 

He stiffens at her words and then stares fully into her eyes. “Nothing.” His voice barely a whisper. “I ….I don’t know. I ..I ….I’m not sure.” He hated how he couldn’t seem to articulate his emotions. ‘ _Where are my note cards?’_ He wonders _. ‘Yeah, like she would have written me one about how to talk to my not dead wife!’_

 

Without realizing it he had let his mental guards down. He’d been out of the habit of needing them. Feeling her mind mingle with his calmed his breathing, he started to relax. She began to run her fingers over his face, through his hair, and down his neck. With each one she left a gentle peck on his lips. River was inside him, outside of him, all around him. He couldn’t resist her siren call.

 

Slowly she undid the buttons on his shirt lightly stroking his skin. Within his mind he heard himself beg her “Please.” It had been so long, so very long. Pulling her to him he fumbled to find her mouth, needing to taste her, needing ……just needing her. His movements were clumsy and awkward, a thousand years out of practice and never in this body.

 

Slowly, taking their time they removed the barriers between them sliding skin against skin kissing, tasting, knowing. Throughout his mind mingled with hers, the connection so very strong. There was only one door left he needed to keep locked; it made it so much easier to be open with her.

 

When they finally joined it was as if their minds and bodies had become one. Never before had their couplings been this intense. Within his mind he showed her all the ways he loved her, all the ways he tried to show her he loved her when he thought the words were inadequate. When finally he had breath again he whispered into her ear, “I love you River ….so much.”

 

They fell into a spent tangle of arms and legs….and tears. They were finally at a place in their relationship neither of them ever thought they would be. They were linear, they were being open with one another with nary a few spoilers left. It was a heady feeling and at the same time completely overwhelming. They held each other tightly, the mental connection broken, and each wondered how they would ever make this work. Scared but feeling so very loved they clung to one another with hope in their hearts.

 

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End file.
